Alpine brings back controversial $400mn worth former team principal as advisor for the team

Alpine recently announced the return of their former team principal, Flavio Briatore. The Italian has been appointed as an executive advisor for the team amid their struggles.

Briatore and Alpine had a massive history with one another when the team was called Renault. Back in 2002, Renault purchased the Benetton team and appointed Briatore as managing director.

During his time at Renault, he signed young Fernando Alonso, who went on to become a great discovery after winning two world titles with the team in 2005 and 2006. Briatore's relationship with Renault has grown significantly by 2006.

However, things started to take a drastic turn in his F1 career after 2006. Briatore's most glaring moment took place at the 2008 F1 Singapore GP when he asked Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash which eventually allowed his teammate, Alonso, to win the race.

When the crashgate was revealed, Briatore was banned from any FIA-related events, which was later lifted.

On June 21, the French team announced that Flavio Briatore would join them after 16 long years, as an advisor. The team further states that the $400,000,000 worth Italian has been appointed by Renault Group CEO Luca De Meo himself.

Alpine also released a short statement that read (via Motorsport):

“BWT Alpine F1 Team can confirm that Flavio Briatore has been appointed by Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo as his Executive Advisor for the Formula One Division.”

“Briatore will predominantly focus on top level areas of the team including: scouting top talents and providing insights on the driver market, challenging the existing project by assessing the current structure and advising on some strategic matters within the sport.”

Since 2022, when the new aerodynamic rules came into force, the French team has been unable to compete with other top teams. They have also experienced several internal conflicts, as seen by the departures of team principal Otmar Szafnauer and CEO Laurent Rossi from the team in 2023.

Alpine had a very poor start to the 2024 F1 season. In the first nine races, they have made significant progress, but they are still far away from the top outfits like Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, and even Mercedes. As of now, they are in eighth place with five points in the championship table.

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F1 pundit against controversial Flavio Briatore returning with Alpine

Before Flavio Briatore was officially announced as an executive advisor for Alpine, several rumors flew that it could become a reality. During this time, F1 pundit Joe Saward opined that Briatore's return to F1 was not a good idea.

In his Green Notebook blog, he talked about the Italian's past controversies and how modern F1 would be negatively affected by it. Saward wrote:

"This is really not a good idea. Firstly, Briatore has had a career in F1 which consists largely of controversy, dating back to his early involvement with Benetton when the team was found to have traction-control in its system. And then, of course, we had the infamous Singapore Grand Prix scam in 2008, after which Briatore was fired by Renault".

Saward added:

"This sort of thing, and people willing to do them, are not what F1 needs in the modern age. A 74-year-old Italian with a sleazy history is not going to be a good thing for the sport. No good will come of it".

Despite his past antics, Alpine has chosen Briatore as their advisor.